Artwork Description
Florence Pierce – Untitled #5
Dimensions: 16 x 16″
Year: 1990
Medium: resin relief
The origin of the resin works, which Pierce would go on to explore, refine, and create for the rest of her artistic life, is well known. In 1969 while working on a foam piece Pierce accidentally spilled some resin onto a piece of aluminum foil. She held the foil to the light and the effect of the mirror surface reflecting light up through the resin entranced her. In the beginning, Pierce poured the resin onto mirrored glass, but the resin did not bond well with the surface. Eventually she began to use plexiglass mirrors (Mirrorplex) which allowed the resin to stick.Art critic Julie Sasse writes of these pieces, “Whereas her earlier easel paintings relied on color and light, these new works created their own emanating glow.
Pierce’s experimentation with the physically arduous process of pouring resin continued. Layer upon layer of transparent resin was poured over the mirrored surface, which allowed for a depth and play of light to work through the color (or absence of color such as in her white or black pieces) within the resin. In some of the pieces she added milled fiberglass to the resin to increase its opacity. She later discovered ways to lay vellum over the surface of the resin in order to modulate the surface. She created a variety of effects, from smooth or matte finishes to delicate crumples or fabric-like folds, all of which subtly and sensually change the way a viewer might experience the color and light of the piece.